Page 7 of A Very Happy Easter

“You’re not a woman who burdens other people.”

I felt quite touched by that observation. “I was just going to ask you to wait a minute before you follow me. Far too many of the guests are fond of gossip.”

“No problem. I’ll hang out here with the bats for a while.”

“Bats?” I shuddered. “We don’t have bats.”

“Sure you do.” He beckoned me towards him, put a finger to his lips, and motioned for me to watch the full moon. A minute later, a tiny shadow flitted in front of the pale glow for a split second, and then it was gone.

“That was a bat?” I whispered.

“Yup. There’s a pond over there, right?”

More of a small lake, really. “Yes.”

“Then it probably went to get a drink or catch some insects. Humans have destroyed a lot of their habitats, and pesticides haven’t been kind to them either, but they’re still around.”

“How do you know about bats?”

“When I was a kid, my grandma got me one of those ‘adopt a bat’ packs for my birthday. At the time, I was pretty disappointed because I wanted Lego, but it turned out to be more interesting than I thought. If we had a bat locator, we’d be able to hear them talking to each other.”

“There’s another one,” I said, pointing. “They’re so fast.”

I’d spent many happy hours in the grounds at Twilight’s End when I was young, but until tonight, I’d never noticed the bats. We watched them swooping and diving, flying between the pond and wherever they lived. Maybe in the roof of the stable block? The loose boxes had been empty for years, but Eis kept them in a good state of repair just in case either of us had a kid who wanted a pony someday. And it might happen. Not for me, obviously, but Janie had recently had her tubes untied, and I knew the two of them wanted a brother or sister for Janie’s two boys. Eis had assured me they were trying hard to make it happen, which quite frankly, was more information than I either wanted or needed.

I’d have to tell him about the bats. The boys would be as fascinated as I was. They’d have one of those locator gadgets before you could blink, and the next time I visited, they’d show me how to use it. Eis really had embraced the role of stepfather, which was a good job because Janie’s ex-husband never paid a penny in child support, and lately, he’d begun making excuses not to have the boys on his designated weekends.

Applause came from the marquee, and Heath and I looked at each other.

“Think they’re about to cut the cake?” he asked.

Unfortunately, I did. “Quick, run.”

Yes, I was wearing heels, but being five feet one, I’d also spent a lifetime in them, so I was quick on my feet. Heath held the door for me—the marquee came with actual doors to keep the bugs out—and we skidded inside just as blade met icing. I tried to smile, but heads turned to stare at me, at us, and I was well aware my face was flushed. Shit. People kept sneaking glances even as Janie dispensed with tradition and slotted in her bouquet toss before the first dance. She looked radiant tonight, beaming in the tea-length ivory dress she’d changed into after the ceremony. If she’d kept her ballgown on, she and Eis would have been line-dancing in different counties.

A horde of single women moved to the dance floor, and my Auntie Eileen—again, not a real aunt—tried to nudge me in that direction.

“It’s your turn, dear.”

“Oh, no. I don’t need to catch a bouquet.”

“You and this lovely young man are an item?” She looked questioningly at Heath. “That’s wonderful news.”

“No, no, Heath’s just…” What was he? Trying to explain the convoluted chain of siblings that had brought him here today would take forever, so I simply settled for, “He’s a friend.”

“You’re needed on the dance floor, then?”

“The bouquet toss is optional, not mandatory.”

“But don’t you want to join in?”

“No, I?—”

It seemed a reasonable number of the guests were volleyball players and the bouquet got batted into the air one, two, three times before someone smashed it in my direction. I dove to the side to avoid being struck in the face, and I would have hit the deck if Heath hadn’t caught me by my armpits.

“Fuck, I’m sorry,” he muttered as he set me back on my feet. “You okay?”

I picked a stray rosebud out of my cleavage. “Fine. I’m absolutely bloody fine.”

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